Wanted - stepped push through sizing die

BBerguson

Official Pennsyltuckian
Ok, this really isn’t a push through die, it’s a push in die. I would like to size the noses of my 30 cal cast bullets smaller leaving the shank larger to engage the rifling. My current die is a lee push through .309. My 180ish gr mold has a very short nose and unless I seat it really deep, which I don’t like to do, the bullet is really jammed into the rifling. What I would like is .310 shank and nose .308 or maybe even .307. Anyone ever do something like this?

Of course the bullet would need to be pushed back out the bottom so this would require a plunger.
 

S Mac

Sept. 10, 2021 Steve left us. You are missed.
I purchased one these from Ian, right on the money and joy to use.
 

BBerguson

Official Pennsyltuckian
Ian, that is exactly what I’m looking for! Tell me exactly what specs you need. I’m guessing I should slug my bore for the base diameter and then you’ll need nose diameter?
 
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BBerguson

Official Pennsyltuckian
Lee C309-180R is one of my molds. Need to go to the shop and look at what the other one is to see I’ll need a different nose punch.
 

Ian

Notorious member
First of all it's not a swage, so you can't push a band back very far due to friction with the die and limitations of the Lyman/RCBS lubrisizers. Second, it works far better with powder coated bullets than conventional; in fact it is intended for powder coated bullets which have the noses enlarged too much by the coating to reliably chamber. Typically the .30-caliber sizer will be .299-.301" on the nose and .309-.312" on the body portion (depending on your rifle) and will be reamed with a tapered transition of 3⁰ included angle (1.5⁰ per side, i.e. the same taper as a .30-'06 throat).

I think it would be wise to back up and examine your rifle's throat via pound cast and micrometer in order to see exactly what you have to work with and possibly order a different mould before proceeding.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
yes start with the rifle, and work from there to the bullet so you know that what you 'want' to change is the right change to make, or what you need to change is a bit elsewhere on the bullet.

Ian is slightly reshaping things.
if you just want to make the nose shape parallel sided so it sits on the lands, then you want an in/out nose sizer from NOE.
in reality it doesn't help anything,, but it does make the round chamber easier [shrug]
 
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Ian

Notorious member
Now we have two threads converging on an intense throat fitting discussion..... :)